Watch full video on YouTube
Watch full video on YouTube
Sitting on the tailgate of my truck, I fire up the new Optimus Gemini II dual-burner camp stove in order to make some coffee and oatmeal to start the day. With a scenic backdrop of snowcapped mountains piercing a pale blue sky, I twist the knobs on the slim silver stove to get the heat settings just right. Moments later, I’ve got oatmeal simmering in one pot while my coffee water boils in a mug next to it. The new Optimus stove, which fits perfectly into my truck-camping regimen, is considered compact. The stove has two burners, making it a…
Toronto sure looks like a rough place these days. Not even by Canadian standards, but ours. Even the U.S. Consulate isn’t safe, as we found out last month.Yeah, that gun control is going just swimmingly, isn’t it? However, I apparently need to give the Toronto cops their due. They made two arrests in the incident, which is good. It’s everything else they announced about the arrests that has me scratching my head.Toronto police announced the arrests Thursday of a 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy in the second shooting at the U.S. Consulate in five…
After a long day in the sun paddling the Missouri River, I hopped off the canoe, walked along the sandbar, and began to set up my tent. As I unfolded the poles, I began to hear the clinking and clanking of knives chopping vegetables and metal spoons hitting the side of a mixing bowl. Soon, the crackle and smoke of fire began to spread over the campsite, and I got my first inkling that something tasty for dinner was on the way. I walked over to the fire with my camp chair in hand, and took a seat to watch…
Violent crime is down across the country, and that’s a very good thing. Our homicide rate hitting record lows is something that we should all be celebrating, and we’re on pace to see it even lower this year. Again, a very good thing. However, the only acceptable number of homicides is zero, and that means there’s always work to be done. We need to be realistic, though, which is why gun control is still a non-starter.But maybe the answer is to not let dangerous people walk around on our city streets? I’m just putting that…
Within the Air Force, officer ranks follow a clear-cut structure, divided into three categories: company grade, field grade, and general officers. Company grade officers range from O-1 to O-3. Climbing the ranks, next are field grade officers, in the O-4 to O-6 range, taking the helm of mid-level command. Finally, at the top of the hierarchy are general officers, O-7 and above, who oversee strategy. Air Force Company Grade Officer Ranks Second Lieutenant (O-1) The rank of second lieutenant is shown through a single gold bar. Proper forms of address include “second lieutenant” or “lieutenant.” Commissioned airmen sometimes may skip…
I got my first Swiss Army knife at a flea market when I was about 11 years old. I have no clue which model it was, but it had the basic tools we typically see nestled between those familiar red handle scales, such as a knife blade, can opener, bottle opener, and corkscrew. I beat the hell out of that knife for a few years. It whittled hundreds of sticks into sharp points. I used it to open cans of Dinty Moore or Chef Boyardee I’d brought to the campfire. It trimmed rope we used in countless forts in the…
Iowa’s always been pretty decent when it comes to gun laws, but the state has made a couple of major improvements over the past few years. In 2021, the state’s permitless carry law kicked in, and the following year voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that declares firearm ownership a fundamental individual right and mandating that courts apply “strict scrutiny” to any future gun control legislation. Those advances could be in danger, though, unless Iowa gun owners turn out in force this November. While Democrat candidates like Christina Bohannan and Josh Turek don’t…
United States President Donald Trump said that indirect peace talks regarding Iran are going well, and progress is being made. Trump made the comments on Wednesday, as U.S. and Iranian officials resumed talks in Qatar, via mediators, telling reporters “the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well.” According to a report by CBS News, Qatar and Pakistan said Thursday that “positive progress was made” during the indirect talks between the US and Iran in Doha, Qatar’s capital, “regarding issues related to the memorandum of understanding” that continued the Iran war ceasefire. Former Trump national security adviser H.R. McMaster said that…
Each year, multiple people die in their attempts to summit one of Colorado’s 53 peaks that rise over 14,000 feet. Some 14ers are more dangerous than others, and unfortunately, one of the most perilous of these mountains just claimed another life. On June 27, a climber going up Little Bear Peak fell and died, despite local emergency response. What Happened In a Facebook post, the Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue (AVSAR) explained the incident. The rescue group received a call on June 27 for a hiker going up the West Ridge indirect approach up the mountain. A large chunk of…
There’s always been a certain degree of discretion afforded to both prosecutors and law enforcement officers. It’s why you sometimes get a warning when you’re caught speeding, or when a cop catches someone doing something and tells them to knock it off, rather than hauling the person to jail. It’s when a DA decides to drop the charges against someone who might have done something wrong, but the prosecutor figures they’ve already learned their lesson. It’s been going on pretty much since forever, but now things are a bit different. Some authorities make a big…
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is defending its criticism of a top-ranking lawmaker as scrutiny continues against the elaborate legislative package making its way through Congress. The VFW on Thursday defended its “political satire” against House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chair Mike Bost (R-Ill.), who on Wednesday accused the VFW of inciting political violence. Specifically, he pointed to apparel being sold online on websites like Grunt Style with the VFW moniker, showing the words “Honor the Contract.” In the image, four males—labeled as “bureaucrats” and “media—are holding firearms aimed at two military service members. Beside that image includes three…
Scientists at the University of Minnesota have taken humanity one step closer to creating “artificial life.” The new lab-created “SpudCell” has replicated several key functions of living organisms, according to researchers. Can Artificial Intelligence Cure “Incurable” Diseases? The researchers at the University of Minnesota unveiled their work on artificial life on Wednesday. Kate Adamala, a synthetic biologist and professor at the university, called the synthetic cell “an incredibly wimpy organism” that currently does little more than “eat and occasionally make a daughter cell.” The team built the cells from non-living chemical components rather than altering existing organisms. According to the project page,…
There is no president more associated with conservation, public lands, and the outdoors than Theodore Roosevelt. TR served in the office from 1901 to 1909, and the avid outdoorsman and hunter worked to protect our country’s natural landscapes. Always a swashbuckling, adrenaline-seeking type, Roosevelt went on many wild adventures and took many unprecedented steps to defend the outdoors. His Presidential Library is set to have its grand opening on July 4 in Medora, N.D. As the new museum prepares to honor his legacy, let’s examine all his fearless feats and efforts to save the outdoors. A Chronological List of Theodore…
There’ve been enough developments to my earlier post about the Virgin Islands Attorney General being threatened with sanctions for failing to submit legal filings by the judge’s deadlines that another post is necessary. First, and hilariously, the USVI did reply to the judge ordering them to explain why they’ve been late in turning in their homework. An Assistant AG, though provided the response, not Ariel Smith, who’s the head of the USVI Justice Department’s Civil Division and the lead attorney for the defense. Attorney Smith, counsel of record for Defendants in this matter, is currently out…
As adults across the United States prepare to formally celebrate the Fourth of July and the long journey taken to reach this point in the nation’s history, the largest youth generation in U.S. history is also speaking out about their appreciation for the country—as well as where improvements can be made to sustain the 250-year-old democratic republic. For months, Gen Z individuals in all 50 states have posted handwritten messages sharing their hopes, dreams and frustrations as part of more than 250 interactive “Wish Walls” found at museums, historic sites, libraries, campuses and public gathering spaces. The civic initiative, organized…
United States health authorities are struggling to identify the source of a foodborne illness that causes severe diarrhea and dehydration. At least 145 people across 17 states have tested positive for the Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite. “Local, state, and federal (CDC, FDA) public health authorities are investigating several clusters of cases in more than one state. Investigations to identify potential sources are ongoing,” according to officials. The outbreak started back in May and has continued to spread. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has acknowledged that there are likely far more cases that are going undiagnosed. Cyclosporiasis is…
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee has spent years arguing that selling or transferring federal public land could help address housing costs in the West. Then on June 22, he voted against a bipartisan housing package aimed at expanding supply and improving affordability. The Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act by a vote of 85-5. Lee, a Utah Republican, joined Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rick Scott of Florida, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama in voting no. The bill is not a public lands bill. It is a housing package aimed at cutting red tape,…
The scorching hot takes about the Wolford decision keep coming, as anti-gunners try to cope with yet another loss at the Supreme Court. Bloomberg opinion columnist and Yale Law professor Stephen Carter has chimed in with his spin on the Court’s decision striking down Hawaii’s “vampire rule” that banned lawful carry by default in all private property open to the public, and as you might expect given who signs his paychecks, Carter isn’t thrilled with the Court’s decision. Carter claims that “it’s not quite clear what burden, besides the inconvenience, justifies the conclusion that Hawaii’s default…
You would think that having the top-selling electric truck in the country would be awesome, right? Ford sold 27,037 examples of the F-150 Lightning last year, outselling the Tesla Cybertruck by more than 7,000 units, and more than doubling the sales numbers of the Chevy Silverado EV. While 27,037 units is nothing to sneeze at, what if you were expecting to sell 150,000 units every year? As it turns out, developing and producing a new vehicle is actually quite expensive! Building the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, was a project that alone cost Ford close to a billion…
